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Sue for peace? All wars are a racket meant to benefit the military industrial complex and corporations - Major General Smedley D. Butler spelled this out for al

Sue for peace? All wars are a racket meant to benefit the military industrial complex and corporations - Major General Smedley D. Butler spelled this out for all of us quite clearly in his book War is a Racket. The war in Ukraine is no exception, and has been in the works for decades (since the collapse of the soviet union at the very least, if not longer). IFM structural adjustments and World Bank loans destabilized the nation. When Ukraine wanted Russia to bankroll their loan instead of the IMF, a CIA-backed coup known as Euromaidan followed and kicked the entire conflict off in 2013/14. Again - I'm not excusing Russia here, obviously they escalated the situation with the invasion, but wars can't be viewed in a vacuum. I know that most people don't want to discuss the actual reasons the war started and is being fought, and instead want to go with the reductionist and feel-good, Russia bad Ukraine good logic. As I said in another comment, there are no good guys in corrupt and evil wars and the war in Ukraine is definitely one of those.

wat10000 8mo ago
What conditions would be acceptable for ending the war? Surrender the whole country? Surrender part of it, then wait for the Russians to violate the agreement again?
- tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
  Ukraine will cease to be a country without a working-age male population. What agreement are you referring to when you say again exactly? The war started in 2014 over Russia offering to bankroll a loan that was previously issued by the IMF / World Bank, and was up for renewal (with structural adjustments of course). Also the ousting of former president Viktor Yanukovych during Euromaidan played into it.
  - wat10000 8mo ago
    I’m referring to the Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia and the other signatories agreed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for giving up their nuclear weapons. So, what’s the answer? What would be acceptable conditions to end the war?
    - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
      The Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances, not guarantees. As I said in one of my previous comments, the situation is far more complex than Russia bad, Ukraine good. If you want to talk bout the Budapest Memorandum you also have to talk about NATO expansion, what has gone on in Ukraine since the memorandum was established, the diplomatic policies of Western powers involved in the Memorandum and NGOs. Acceptable conditions to end the war would be whatever prevents the sacrifice of Ukraine's working-age male population. Otherwise, as I also said in my previous comments, there will be no more Ukraine. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum [2] https://globalgeopolitics.co.uk/2025/12/06/how-a-non-binding-budapest-memorandum-became-a-war-narrative/ https://globalgeopolitics.co.uk/2025/12/06/how-a-non-binding...
      - wat10000 8mo ago
        “The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and The United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.” It’s not complicated. I don’t care what you want to call it, they pretty clearly violated it. What conditions would do that? You say they should end the war. How? What exactly would peace look like in your view? Or are you just vaguely wishing? If you asked me how Putin could stop the war and preserve his country, I’d be able to answer that easily. But I have no idea how Zelenskyy could. Educate me.
        tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
        Do you know what the difference between an assurance and a guarantee is? There was no formal treaty declared. Russia could say that Ukraine violated provisions in the agreements, and has said so. Who is right? It actually is quite complicated, but you choose to reduce the situation to black and white. There's unlikely to be peace by design - because the war isn't about Ukrainian sovereignty it's about genociding slavs on both sides of the conflict. You clearly haven't read the book War is a Racket, which is why you don't understand that all wars - including the one in Ukraine - are fought to benefit a select few at the expense of the populations of the nations involved. Your proposed solution for stopping the war is a non-starter because that's not how wars work - it's delusional to think it would ever happen.

wat10000 8mo ago

What conditions would be acceptable for ending the war? Surrender the whole country? Surrender part of it, then wait for the Russians to violate the agreement again?

tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
Ukraine will cease to be a country without a working-age male population. What agreement are you referring to when you say again exactly? The war started in 2014 over Russia offering to bankroll a loan that was previously issued by the IMF / World Bank, and was up for renewal (with structural adjustments of course). Also the ousting of former president Viktor Yanukovych during Euromaidan played into it.
- wat10000 8mo ago
  I’m referring to the Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia and the other signatories agreed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for giving up their nuclear weapons. So, what’s the answer? What would be acceptable conditions to end the war?
  - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
    The Budapest Memorandum provided security assurances, not guarantees. As I said in one of my previous comments, the situation is far more complex than Russia bad, Ukraine good. If you want to talk bout the Budapest Memorandum you also have to talk about NATO expansion, what has gone on in Ukraine since the memorandum was established, the diplomatic policies of Western powers involved in the Memorandum and NGOs. Acceptable conditions to end the war would be whatever prevents the sacrifice of Ukraine's working-age male population. Otherwise, as I also said in my previous comments, there will be no more Ukraine. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum [2] https://globalgeopolitics.co.uk/2025/12/06/how-a-non-binding-budapest-memorandum-became-a-war-narrative/ https://globalgeopolitics.co.uk/2025/12/06/how-a-non-binding...
    - wat10000 8mo ago
      “The Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and The United States of America reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.” It’s not complicated. I don’t care what you want to call it, they pretty clearly violated it. What conditions would do that? You say they should end the war. How? What exactly would peace look like in your view? Or are you just vaguely wishing? If you asked me how Putin could stop the war and preserve his country, I’d be able to answer that easily. But I have no idea how Zelenskyy could. Educate me.
      - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
        Do you know what the difference between an assurance and a guarantee is? There was no formal treaty declared. Russia could say that Ukraine violated provisions in the agreements, and has said so. Who is right? It actually is quite complicated, but you choose to reduce the situation to black and white. There's unlikely to be peace by design - because the war isn't about Ukrainian sovereignty it's about genociding slavs on both sides of the conflict. You clearly haven't read the book War is a Racket, which is why you don't understand that all wars - including the one in Ukraine - are fought to benefit a select few at the expense of the populations of the nations involved. Your proposed solution for stopping the war is a non-starter because that's not how wars work - it's delusional to think it would ever happen.